NZ Breakers basketball director Dan Shamir expects to learn early in the week if Glen Rice Jr will be cleared by Basketball Australia's integrity unit to play on Saturday against the Adelaide 36ers.
The former NBA guard faces charges in New Zealand, after an incident on Thursday night in an Auckland bar.
The ANBL directed the Breakers to pull the 28-year-old out of Sunday's game in Perth, only an hour before they were to play the Wildcats at RAC Arena.
Shamir said they only heard there was a potential issue two hours before tip-off.
After the 88-77 loss, he said he believed that, in other leagues, Rice would have been allowed to play, but he admitted he wasn't aware of Basketball Australia's rules, and didn't know whether his import would be available to face the 36ers or even continue in the league.
"I am pretty sure right now a quick, swift decision will be made - [that is] what is his future with our team?" he said.
"I don't know how it works. News [of the incident] broke yesterday, so whoever makes the decision only just became aware.
"I don't want to blame anybody. I respect everybody who is behind the league and how it is done, I just don't know some of it.
"In other places, where I would have been, he would have played, so I didn't have [seen] it coming - I didn't know something like that could happen."
The Breakers have suffered a tough couple of weeks, with chief executive Matt Walsh also fined and suspended, after being caught up in a verbal altercation with NBL commissioner Jeremy Loeliger during their previous away game against South East Melbourne.
Just before the NBL sent out a statement about Rice, it announced Walsh's suspension had been reduced to one game (against Perth) and part of his fine had been suspended.
Shamir said the unusual set of circumstances facing the club over the past few weeks couldn't be ignored and although the players had tried to remain focused, losing a player who averages 22.5 points a game does have an impact.
"We prepare a gameplan and some of it surrounded him," he said. "Still, in our business, there are so many distractions all of the time.
"One of the core aspects of being a coach and a player is that when a game starts, forget about all of the distractions and take care of what you can.
"It's easier said than done."
AAP
